1. Intro
1.1 What is Natural Selection?
Natural Selection is a Mod, short for MODification, for VALVe Software's game Half-Life. It is Multiplayer Only, so you need a good connection to play. Natural Selection takes a First-Person Shooter, crosses it with a Real-Time Strategy game, and adds a Sci-Fi atmosphere. In this game, each team must capture resources, build up and guard their home bases, establish new bases, and ultimately destroy the opposition's base. It is what one would expect to see if they could play StarCraft first person.
2.2 The Heads-Up Display (HUD)
The HUD consists of everything on your screen that is not an object in the
game. All the information displayed there is vital to you, regardless of team.
Here's a quick breakdown of the info displayed, divided by team.
Marines:
Top Left Corner - Weapon Selection
Top Center - Team Resources and the current Commander
Top Right Corner - Minimap, shows current position and nearby corridors.
Bottom Right Corner - Ammo in Weapon/Reserve Ammo; Weapons/Armor
upgrades; Jetpack/Heavy Armor upgrades; Jetpack
energy
Bottom Left Corner - Current Health and Armor levels; Current Location
Kharaa:
Top Left Corner - Weapon Selection
Top Right Corner - Hive Status, shows Hive construction, Hives under
attack will flash red, unbuilt hives will be grayed
out.
Bottom Right Corner - Current Upgrades/Available Upgrade Chambers;
energy remaining.
Bottom Left Corner - Current Location; Current Health and Armor levels;
Current Resource Amount
Circles on HUD - Hive Sight*, acts this way:
White Circles - Friendlies and Hive Locations
Red Circles - Friendlies under attack
Yellow Circles - Parasited Enemies
Orange Circles - Wounded Friends/Enemies**

This may seem like a lot of information, and it is. However, it is not
overwhelming, and will become second nature after a while. Now it's time to
talk about the Pop-up Menu. Right click and hold, and a menu comes up. As
long as you hold down the right mouse button, you can move the mouse to select
various commands. The most important commands for the Marines are the various
radio commands. For the Kharaa, the most important commands are the upgrade
selections.
*Will be discussed in the Kharaa Section
**Requires Scent of Fear

The built in Voice Communication system in Half-Life works just as well
with Natural Selection as it does any other mod, and is extremely useful. You
can talk with teammates and defend yourself at the same time, making this far
superior to the normal text chat. The setup for voice chat is in the Half-Life
folder of the Start Menu, and is simple to set up. Just bind it to a key,
either during the game with the console command "bind key +voicerecord" or in
the menu. I suggest Caps Lock myself, as it is close to the WASD keys. For a
microphone, I highly suggest getting a headset microphone. Not only does this
capture sound better than a boom mike, the headset gives you 3D sound. Think
of it as a poor man's surround sound system. Once you hear a Skulk behind a
wall to your left, go around the wall and kill the Skulk, and emerge unscathed,
you will never play with desktop speakers again.

2.4 How Armor Works

It is a common misconception that Armor is just extra health. This is
wrong. Armor will absorb a certain amount of damage, and that amount will be
taken off the Armor total. The remaining percentage will be taken off the
Health total. Here is an example: You are a Fade, with all the Carapace
upgrades. A Marine comes around with a Light Machinegun and hits you twelve
times before you punish him for his insolence. An LMG does 10 damage per hit.
120 damage has been inflicted on you. Assuming you have full health and armor,
your armor will absorb 60% of this damage. Your Armor will fall by 72 points.
However, your Health will take 40% of the 120 damage. Your Health will fall
by 48 points. So remember, just because you have a lot of armor, you are not
invulnerable to everything.

2.5 How to remove the title of "n00b." (AKA: How to be a good player)

Very simple. Don't do anything stupid. Listen to advice from others, and
play. Don't whine, and you will prove yourself to be a good player! However,
this is a little vague. Let me be a bit more specific.

1. Don't spam messages. Any messages. Period.
2. Don't swear constantly. Especially over voice chat. You sound like a
whiny and drunk Drill Instructor. Except you can't swear as well.
3. Don't whine or beg. This immediately marks you as a poor player. I
know you want that big gun, and you will get it eventually. Until the
commander decides to give you one, you won't get it. And don't whine
about the teams constantly. Think of it as a target rich environment.
Bottom line: Don't be like PETA and whine about something that won't
get changed anytime soon.
4. Don't say anything racist or biased over chat. No, I am not gay, and
neither is reloading my weapon. An action does not have gender.
5. Don't do anything to deliberately hurt your team. It is your job to
hurt the other team.
6. Don't get any form of cheat or hack. This is just pathetic. Go get
a life. If you need to cheat in a game, stop playing and go do
something constructive.

I'll add more "don'ts" as I remember them or they get sent in.

3. The Teams

This is where Natural Selection sets itself apart from other mods. Each of the
teams have wildly different methods of play. You CANNOT use the same tactics
as a Frontiersman that you did as the Kharaa. Does. Not. Work. You must
adapt, and work as a team. Loners cannot win in this game. Now, onto the
teams.

3.1 The Frontiersmen (AKA Marines)

This team is made up of humans, and do not have classes per se. They do
not have a builder unit; instead, they must rely on a single player acting as
Commander, who has an overhead view of the entire battlefield, to supply
weapons, buildings, and upgrades.

3.1.1 Frontiersmen Equipment

The Knife - 30 damage per swipe, unlimited ammo.

Now, you may think that this weapon is useless, and you would be correct.
In most cases. However, this weapon is ideal for killing Kharaa all Kharaa
structures, except for Offense Chambers or Hives. Heck, if you are good
enough, you can kill Skulks with no problem. I bow to your skill if you can
perform this feat.

Pistol - 20 damage per shot, 10 rounds per clip, 30 extra rounds max.

Ahh, the Pistol. One may also assume that this weapon is useless, and you
are partly right. However, this weapon is DEAD accurate, and with 20 damage
per shot, one clip will kill a Skulk. However, don't even think about killing
a Fade or an Onos with this. They have way too much armor for that.

Your default primary weapon is a good one. Like the manual says, best
used in groups. This weapon is good against all classes except Onos, if in
groups. It fires quickly, reloads quickly, is accurate, and looks cool. What
more is there to say? However, the Heavy Machinegun is superior.

This weapons is obtainable only after the Armory is constructed, and when
the commander spawns one for you. This weapon is death for any light class,
and can eliminate Fades if used correctly. As a shotgun, the closer you are,
the more damage you do. This weapon can do 160 damage per shot, and that will
put a Fade down with two or three hits. Beware, this is a pump action weapon.

Time to break out the big stuff! This requires an Advanced Armory, but is
worth the wait. This gun dishes out tons of damage at a fast rate. This is
my weapon of choice against any Kharaa, except an Onos. And even the dreaded
Onos will die if you attack in groups. The downside of this weapon is the slow
reload, and the shortage of extra ammo. 225 rounds seems like a lot, but you
will burn through it quickly. Also, this weapon will slow you down some, so
beware.

Indirect Artillery is good. That is what the Grenade Launcher provides,
when an Advanced Armory is around. Each grenade is capable of killing a Skulk,
so it is safe to say that nothing is invulnerable to the power of this gun.
*UPDATE: Buildings can apparently take damage from grenades, contrary to what
the official manual says.* Also, you will take damage if one of your grenades
lands at your feet. Despite these flaws, this weapon is fully capable of
clearing out a room, or ridding yourself of that
one Lerk in the rafters.

This becomes available when the Armory goes up, and should be issued
liberally. This is vital to your success, as buildings don't heal themselves,
and armor is not affected by medikits. The welder can kill enemies, though I
suggest you use it on structures, not on a Fade. This will replace your
pistol, so be careful not to pull this out by accident in a firefight.

Trip Mines - 100 splash damage, 5 mines max. In weapons slot 2.

These can be a blessing and a curse. They can be put on walls for a laser trip
mine, or on the floor for a contact mine. They can put an assault on hold, but
a pesky Fade can set these off with Acid Rockets or Bile Bombs. Use with
caution.

This becomes available with the construction of a prototype lab, and must be
researched. A Frontiersman equipped with this can take massive amounts of
damage and emerge unscathed. Combined with HMGs, Grenade Launchers, and most
importantly, Welders, a squad of Marines can plow through most defenses. This
armor does restrict movement, so you move SLOW. Don't expect a hasty retreat
if you are overwhelmed. However, this will not be a problem too often.

Jet Pack - Gives a rocket pack to the wearer, cost 9 resources.

This will give you a kick in the pants, when used correctly. The Jet Pack does
what it advertizes. 'Nuff said. Oh, don't be too far off the ground when you
run out of gas. The gas does recharge, though.

3.1.2 Frontiersmen Buildings

Buildings must be built by your teammates after the commander plops one down,
so remember to hold the use key to assemble the building. It is USELESS
otherwise.

This is the key to Frontiersman victory. Think of it as the construction
yard in Command & Conquer. If this goes down, and you do not have a spare, you
just lost. Protect this at all costs! This is where the Commander sits. To
become Commander, go up to this and hit the Use key. Only one person may be
Commander, so only one Command Console may be in use at any time. Construction
of a spare in a secure location is recommended. The Commander can immediately
spawn health and ammo packs, as well as all basic structures. This is also a
favorite target of an early skulk rush, so beware.
Allows: Infantry Portal, Resource Tower

This is the second essential building for the Frontiersmen. This small
pad is where Marines will respawn after death. If no Infantry Portals are
left, nobody can respawn. Defend these as well as the Command Console. Also,
you may want to build more than one, as bottlenecks can develop if there are
too few portals.
Requires: Command Console
Allows: Observatory, Turret Factory; Armory

Resource Tower - Cost: 22 resources. Health: 5000.

This is the third essential building for the Frontiersmen. This can only
be placed on a resource nozzle, so be on the lookout for these. These will
give some resource points every so often, so it is good to have a lot.
Resources are life in this game. Without them, the team will wither and die.
Requires: Command Console

This structure allows the Commander to spawn weaponry for his Marines.
It also allows any Marine to get free ammo for his chosen weapon by holding
Use. This structure can also be upgraded to an Advanced Armory for 35
resources. This allows the Commander to spawn heavier weapons for the Marines.
All weapons must be dropped near the Armory.
Requires: Infantry Portal
Allows: Adv. Armory, Shotguns, Trip Mines, Welders
(Adv. Armory): Heavy Machine Gun
(Adv. Armory and Arms Lab): Grenade Launcher

Observatory - Cost: 25 resources. Health: 1000.

The Observatory is a structure that should be built near any strongpoint.
It reveals all nearby enemies, even those who have cloaked. They appear as a
blue circle on every Marine's screen. More importantly, they allow you to
research Motion Tracking. Motion Tracking allows a Marine to see the location
of every Kharaa, as long as it is moving. This has unlimited range, so is
quite useful. The Observatory also allows the construction of Phase Gates, and
the use of Distress Beacon. For 15 resources, you can summon EVERY Marine back
from the dead. Very useful, and under-used.
Requires: Infantry Portal
Allows: Phase Gates
Research: Motion Tracking
Abilities: Distress Beacon

Turret Factories are the base structure for the Frontiersmen static defense
system. These allow the construction of sentry turrets, and with 30 resources,
upgrades to the Adv. Turret Factory. This allows you to build the best way to
take a Kharaa strong point: the siege cannon.
Requires: Infantry Portal
Allows: Sentry Turrets, Siege Turrets (with Adv. Turret Factory)

Phase Gate - Cost: 20 resources. Health: 3500.

Probably the only structure not likely to be destroyed by the Kharaa when
they take a forward base, the Phase Gate allows any player, Marine or Kharaa,
to travel instantaneously across the map to another Phase Gate. This should be
built as soon as possible, to allow instant reinforcement of a forward base, or
of the main base. Beware, if the Kharaa take one intact, recycle it before a
herd of Fades come to pay you a visit. Also, if three or more gates are built,
you will teleport between the gates in order. If you step on Gate 1, and you
want to go to Gate 3, you are teleported to Gate 2, then to Gate 3. Simple,
yet effective.
Requires: Observatory

The final base structure, the Prototype Lab allows the research and
building of Heavy Armor and Jetpacks. That's about it.
Requires: Arms Lab
Allows: Heavy Armor, Jetpacks (Must be Researched first)

Sentry Turret - Cost: 19 resources. Armor: 1000. Damage: 27 per hit.

This automated turret keeps those pesky Skulks out of the base. It fires
quickly, and does a good amount of damage per hit. It won't keep a Fade out,
but it will slow him down long enough for a squad of Marines to show up. The
turret has a 360 degree field of fire, but can only pitch up or down about 30
degrees. Don't expect to cover a ceiling vent with a turret placed under it.
Requires: Turret Factory

This is what you want to use when attacking a Kharaa strongpoint. It is
pretty useless for base defense, as it will not target units. However, it will
target structures, and will fire through walls. It has good range, and does a
lot of damage. If you get three set up in range of your target, all you have
to do is go in and mop things up.
Requires: Adv. Turret Factory

3.1.3 The Commander

The Commander is the key to the Frontiersmen gameplan. Without a good
Commander, the team will easily be overrun by the Kharaa. The Commander is the
only person who can place a structure, upgrade weaponry and armor, give orders,
or give out weaponry and equipment. He uses a set-up similar that should be
familiar to anybody who has played a Real-Time Strategy game. The main
difference is that your "units" are other Marines, controlled by real players,
who may not like your orders. Most players; however, will follow your lead,
and you should help them out when you can.

Placing a Building - This is your first job as a Commander, and it is
relatively easy. Just left-click on the Building List, and drop a building
when you have a green highlight around it. Remember, at least one Marine must
build it for you, so don't spam a herd of sentry turrets and expect an area to
be secured. Also, certain buildings must be put in certain places. Infantry
Portals must be placed in range of the Command Console. Likewise, turrets
must be placed near a Turret Factory. This range is shown by a green circle.
Also, be careful not to put something on an unreachable ledge, or a catwalk,
when you wanted it on the ground. If you do this, or you are running short on
resources, you can recycle the building to get some resources back, and to
remove the offending building.

Supplying Your Fellow Marines - An equally important job, YOU are the sole
supplier of equipment to your fellow teammates. To get superior equipment, you
must build the prerequisite buildings, then select the item you wished drop,
and drop it. Also, you can drop ammo clips and health packs to fellow Marines.
A health pack is the only way for a Marine to restore lost health, and a Welder
is the only way to restore ammo. Very simple, but equipment is a constant
drain on resources, as people will get killed, and will lose all those shiny
HMGs and Jetpacks they were begging for. However, an equipment upgrade is a
one-time expenditure. Just click on the building that has the upgrade, and
research it. Heavier armor, more powerful weapons, and Motion Tracking are
ALL very useful. And even if the Arms Lab or Observatory goes down, the
upgrades stay the whole game.

Issuing Orders - Now this is where the Commander gets to command. To select a
teammate, either click on someone, or click and drag a box around a group.
Then, right click on a place, a new structure, or an enemy. The former will
issue an order to proceed to the waypoint. The second will issue an order to
build the building at the waypoint. You can also select your teammates, then
drop the building. The order will be given automatically. The third will
issue an order to attack the target. When an order is given, a blue symbol
will appear to guide people to the waypoint.

3.2 The Kharaa

The Kharaa use a Class based structure, and have a builder unit to build
their bases. They have less buildings, yet are no less complex than the
Frontiersmen. Each player must pick his own class upgrade and Chamber upgrades
using his own resources. The Kharaa pool their resources, so a Resource
Collector gives the resources to everyone. The more players on your team, or
the fewer Collectors, the slower the resources come. Also, you can see every
player on your team via Hive Sight. Think of it as a built in wallhack. If an
enemy is parasited, or is seen by one of your fellows, you can see him as well.

This is the builder class, and recieves more resources than the other
classes. This is the only class that can build buildings.
Spit - 22 Damage
Healing Spray - Heal friendly players and structures
Web - Create a web that can trap enemies
Spawn Babblers - Make weaker versions of Skulks.

Lerk - Cost: 33 resources Health: 60 Armor: 50 (30% Damage Absorbed)

This is a support/sniper class, and should not be used to attack the enemy
outright. Use the Umbra and Spore Cloud to support an assault, and snipe at an
enemy with the Spikes
Bite - 50 Damage
Spikes - 16 Damage
Umbra - Protective cloud around nearby friendlies.
Spore Cloud - 36 damage, large radius.

Fade - Cost: 44 resources Health: 200 Armor: 90 (30% Damage Absorbed)

This is the main assault class of the Kharaa, and is good at melee combat,
ranged combat, and indirect bombardment. Using the Blink ability, you can go
around defenses and attack from behind.
Swipe - 80 damage
Acid Rocket - 40 damage, 2x vs players
Blink - Teleportation
Bilebomb - 80 damage, 2x vs structures, arcing fire.

The best way to describe this class is to call it a tank. The Onos can
take withering amounts of firepower, shake it off, then kill all of its
attackers with ease.
Gore - 120 damage
Paralyze - Paralyzes foes for 6 seconds
Charge - Variable damage, faster movement.
Primal Scream - Energy boost for all nearby Kharaa

3.2.2. Buildings

The Gorge is the only class capable of building any structures. Several
of the various Chambers provide three upgrades as well as providing their
services. The upgrades are mutually exclusive, and will be documented by their
respective chamber.

Hive - Cost: 80 resources

The Hive is the most vital structure on the Kharaa side. Without any
active Hives, you will start to die slowly. Each Hive provides health, armor,
respawn points, Hive Sight, and one type of Chamber. You can have a maximum of
three hives, and each boosts your total resource amount by 1/3, all the way to
a max of 100 resources. The only exception to that is a Gorge, who always has
100 resources.
Abilities - Hive Sight - Acts as a wallhack, lets you see teammates and
parasited enemies.
Healing - Just stand by the Hive, and it will heal you.

Resource Chamber - Costs 22 resources

This gathers resources, and distributes them to all of your teammates.
Simple enough, just remember that Gorges get a bigger share. It's like a
Communist government: They're all equal, the Gorges are just more equal than
the others.

Offense Chamber - Costs 14 resources.

This is your form of a static base defense. Build lots of these, and back
them up with Defensive Chambers. This will form what is commonly called a
"wall of lame."
*UPDATE* You can also stack these towers by building another tower on top of
one. This trick is intimidating, and is very effective. Double the firepower
for half the space is always good. Just remember that grenades will do more
damage to this setup than a normal double row of chambers.